SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) 鈥 Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has enlisted help from a key ally, Sen. Rand Paul, as the maverick congressman tries to fend off President Donald Trump’s threats to oust him from Congress.
Massie is running headlong into his as a super PAC launched by Trump aides attacks him and he awaits a potential challenge from someone backed by the president. Massie has drawn the president’s wrath for opposing him on budget and foreign policy issues but is betting that Kentuckians will embrace his independent streak despite Trump’s popularity in the Bluegrass State.
Massie on Thursday was wrapping up a two-day swing through his district alongside Paul, who has endorsed the congressman and shares Massie’s libertarian leanings. Massie says Paul’s endorsement offers “a counterbalance to Donald Trump鈥檚 presumed endorsement for somebody else.鈥
Accustomed to winning by lopsided margins, Massie became the first Republican incumbent in Congress to be targeted for defeat by Trump and his political team in the 2026 midterm election. He’s about eight months away from the GOP primary, which takes place in May.
鈥淗ere鈥檚 what鈥檚 certain 鈥 if I just give up, I will lose,鈥 Massie said in an interview this week. 鈥淏ut the thing is, I never give up. And people know that.鈥
Whoever wins the Republican nomination will be heavily favored in the November general election in a district last represented by a Democrat two decades ago.
Both Massie and Paul have reputations for standing up to their party leaders in Washington, a dynamic that Paul said puts them in good standing with voters back home.
鈥淚 think there’s a difference between Kentucky and D.C.,鈥 Paul told reporters Wednesday. 鈥‘Oh, Thomas Massie or Rand Paul are unpopular in D.C.’ Well, that’s why we’re popular at home because people aren’t very happy with what’s going on in Washington.鈥
So far, a handful of candidates besides Massie have filed with the Federal Election Commission for the campaign in Kentucky’s 4th District. They include Republicans Niki Lee Ethington and Robert Wells and Democrats Elizabeth Mason-Hill and Jesse Brewer.
Massie’s rocky relationship with Trump
Massie’s up-and-down relationship with Trump took another plunge this year. The congressman opposed the that Trump calls 鈥渂eautiful” but Massie says will grow the national debt and hurt the economy. Massie drew Trump’s wrath for saying the president lacked authority to attack Iran鈥檚 nuclear sites without congressional approval. And of efforts to force the public release of case files on the sex trafficking probe into the late Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump unleashed on Massie this summer on his social media platform.
鈥淭homas Massie, the worst Republican Congressman, and an almost guaranteed NO VOTE each and every time, is an Embarrassment to Kentucky. He鈥檚 lazy, slow moving, and totally disingenuous - A real loser! Never has anything positive to add. Looking for someone good to run against this guy, someone I can Endorse and vigorously campaign for!鈥
Massie said there’s more at stake than his own future 鈥 the role of Congress to check presidential powers and for its GOP members to cast votes contrary to Trump’s wishes without fear of retribution.
鈥淭his race is a referendum on whether somebody can be independent within the Republican Party,” Massie said in the interview. 鈥淎nd a lot of my colleagues are watching this race. They ask me every week how it鈥檚 going.”
He said Trump’s attacks on him are intended to keep his Republican colleagues in line.
The battle for bucks takes off
Bracing for a strong primary challenge, Massie has ramped up fundraising. He’s averaged a half-million dollars in donations per quarter this year, he said, amassing more in a quarter than he typically raised in two years. In his own early ad, Massie said he’s being attacked for 鈥渉olding the Washington machine accountable鈥 and defiantly proclaimed: “I’m not folding, I’m fighting. And I’m just getting started.鈥
The MIT-educated Massie entered Congress in late 2012. He represents a conservative district stretching across northern Kentucky that includes a mix of rural and suburban voters.
Massie’s reputation as a contrarian willing to buck GOP leaders goes back years. In 2020, during Trump’s first term, he tried to stall a . Trump berated him then as a 鈥渢hird rate Grandstander鈥 who should be tossed from the GOP. The smackdown was a bump in the road for Massie, who cruised to reelection. In 2022, calling him a 鈥淐onservative Warrior鈥 and a 鈥渇irst-rate Defender of the Constitution.鈥
鈥淧eople remember that, and they know that sometimes people get on his bad side and sometimes they鈥檙e on his good side,鈥 Massie said.
Massie unleashes a preemptive attack
In the same interview, Massie found a way to attack a candidate who remains hypothetical at this point.
鈥淚f they try to recruit a candidate who鈥檚 politically aware, politically astute and they have existing political capital and name ID, they鈥檙e not willing to risk it on the long odds of beating me,” Massie said. “And then if you find a candidate who doesn鈥檛 have any political capital and hasn鈥檛 been paying attention, they鈥檙e probably not a very good candidate.鈥
Todd McMurtry, who lost to Massie in the 2020 Republican primary, describes him as an 鈥渙bstructionist who has accomplished next to nothing.鈥 He said a strong challenger can unseat him but it won’t be easy.
鈥淚 am certain whoever runs against him will get roughed up,鈥 McMurtry said Wednesday in an email.
Trey Grayson, a former GOP Kentucky secretary of state, said Massie’s willingness to oppose Trump’s priorities when they conflict with his own principles cuts both ways. It will cost him with voters who want a stronger voice for Trump but appeals to voters who appreciate his focus on cutting federal spending and bringing greater transparency to the Epstein case.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been more bullish on Massie鈥檚 reelection chances than most,鈥 Grayson said by email Wednesday. 鈥淭he fact that, after months of recruiting, no meaningful challenger has stepped up, has only reinforced my views about Massie鈥檚 reelection chances.鈥
